Marquette women’s basketball defeated the Morgan State University Lady Bears 70-48 in its season opener Tuesday.
“We played aggressive,” junior guard Selena Lott said. “We had some down moments, but our energy kept us up.”
It was the first win for Marquette’s new head coach Megan Duffy.
“(The first win) feels great,” Duffy said. “(I’m) just really thrilled to be here and continue to build this program in the right way.”
The Golden Eagles got out to a slow start in the first quarter. MU shot just 33.3% from the field, 16.7% from beyond the arc and finished the frame tied at 13-13.
“This was a game that could get sloppy, and you saw that throughout different points,” Duffy said. “For us, we just need to settle down.”
The second quarter saw the same Marquette offense, as MU shot 31% in the quarter, but the Golden Eagles only allowed three points in the quarter and went into halftime with a 29-16 advantage.
In the first half, Marquette turned the ball over 12 times.
“It felt like it was 12 turnovers in about a three-minute span,” Duffy said. “We lost our energy for a few minutes out there.”
After another quiet offensive quarter in the third, Marquette’s offense finally came alive in the fourth, shooting 91.7% in the quarter and 80% from beyond the arc while cruising a 70-48 victory.
“We scored and we got it out in transition and looked confident. (Freshman forward) Camryn Taylor gave us a great spark off the bench in that fourth quarter,” Duffy said. “We started sharing the basketball. When you can end the game shooting 11 for 12, that’s pretty good. We’ll take that anyday.”
Lott put up a game-high 24 points on 9-for-13 shooting while adding six assists.
“(Selena) was poised, composed. She’s played a lot of games here, and that showed,” Duffy said. “(She was) super engaged with the game plan and what we were trying to do. She’s contagious in so many ways on the defensive end, then she hits a couple shots.”
Senior guard Isabelle Spingola ended with 13 points, sophomore Chloe Marotta added seven points and a game-high nine rebounds and freshman point guard Jordan King contributed nine points, four rebounds and a game-high seven assists.
Dahnye Redd led the way for the Bears with 13 points, while Chelsea Mitchell totaled nine points and seven rebounds on the day.
Next up for Marquette (1-0) is a matchup against St. Francis College Brooklyn Thursday at the Al McGuire Center at 7 p.m.
